Encore Champagne Bar & Dining Room

I came here for a birthday brunch on a Sunday. There was a party of 12 of us and they put us in the back room, alone. There was some sort of event going on in the main part of the restaurant. I showed up late, but my friends mentioned that there were tons of issues with the reservations.
The food was horrible. All of us were really underwhelmed and disappointed in the food! I had dry eggs benedict. It was nasty! We all ordered the bottomless mimosas and they were running out super fast! They were so understaffed, it took forever for them to bring drinks. They would bring a little baby carafe of orange juice and a larger carafe of champaign that was all gone in less than 5 minutes.
It was pretty pricey for what we got. It made me not interested in coming back and checking it out again.

I made reservations for NYE WEEKS in advance and the receptionist had the nerve to call me a couple hours before the reservation to tell me they were going to have a party instead and had to cancel my reservations. We couldn’t even find another open restaurant that evening! So you can imagine how upset we were.
Then the receptionist proceeds to say that she would put me and my plus 1 on the list to get in for free (they were charging a $ 50 cover for that «party»). She explained we would get free champagne from 9 – 11. Well we got there and we weren’t even on the list! I traveled from out of town to go to this place because of its reviews and ambiance. However, it was the worst experience I’ve ever had. I’ve only written 5 star Unilocal reviews. This is my first 1 star and I didn’t even want to give that!

Now that I’m engaged, I’ve been on wedding planning mode and wanted to do a little surprise for my girls by treating them to brunch! I knew encore would be the prefect place to invite the girls for a Sunday champagne brunch. I had the waitress help me by handing out the gifts I got the girls asking them to be my bridesmaids when they last expected it. It was perfect, the girls had no idea and were so excited for the extra treatment. We each did the bottomless minosa and ordered off the menu. The staff was super friendly and attentive. They even treated us to a round of shots of fireball and took a bunch or pictures for us girls! :-) I personal love the setting of encore and find it so chic. I feel fabulous and girly girl every time I’m there.

I used to love this place… I also used to recommend this place to everyone but its been months since last time I’be been. Menu was reduced to like 80%!!! Most of champagnes I used to love they took off and now the prices are ABSURD!!! Also this lounge used to be packed always and now… Completely empty! Shame on you guys!!!

Went in on a Wednesday for my second time. unbeknownst to us — it was a Happy Hour with very minimal but satisfying items. Two for One on Champagne and beers and $ 1 oysters (my fav!). It was a very nice time — not too crowded (about three tables) and left around 10pm. The service this time was much better than the last. The male bartender was our serve and he was really great. The ladies that work there are a little too flirty for my taste. They should be a little more professional when it comes to patrons coming in on dates (as opposed to a group of guys).
Will be a returning customer. (oh! and the duck confit risotto is delish!)

This place is seriously the biggest joke ever!
My friends and I had a birthday party of 16 people. My friend who coordinated the whole birthday celebration was told by Maria that we would have certain sections that were going to be reserved for our group. We were supposed to have half the bar area as well as where all the white lounge couches were.
HOWEVER when we got there Maria and her staff were SO incompetent. They kept telling us different stories about why the area wasn’t reserved. We later found out that they had double booked and it looks like the owner of this place decided to move us into another area with much less seating so his friends could take over our «supposedly reserved section»
The staff was rude the whole time and my boyfriend even cussed at the bouncer guy because we couldn’t even order a drink from the bartenders.
Food: Apparently they revamped the whole menu and it’s pretty much burgers, flatbreads and sandwiches. I’m not sure how the food ties in with champagne.
The burger was pretty bad, flatbread was eh, and the rest of the food wasn’t anything special.
Service: Terrible and especially Maria are all a bunch of liars. Will never be coming back again

We came here for our bachelorette party dinner at the suggestion of one of the bridesmaids. She arranged our dinner reservations but was not informed of the seating arrangements.

Upon entering the plush white lounge, with upscale décor, a striking and brightly colored chandelier, we were greeted by friendly and eager staff. We were handed menus and brought to a small middle area of the room where we were had to share the cool leather stools with half the butt cheeks of other girls already sitting on both sides of our area. The tables were small and we’re not suitable for «dining» full meals and designed for shared bar food and appetizers as in a Vegas nightclub or lounge. There were high bar top tables that other patrons were sitting at so why didn’t they reserve those seats for those who had reservations and intentions of eating a full course dinner? Their menu certainly suggests that they serve dinner and have a dining room. After the server discussed the situation with what looked like the General Manager or the owner, they ended up asking a couple to move from one of the high top bar tables to accommodate our party.
Aside from the friendly, smiley staff and chic, upscale décor they seem to be unaffected with the air flow in their establishment. I did notice prior to being seated at our new area in the restaurant, the GM or the owner of the restaurant, was waving his hands in the air as if he was checking the air flow and testing the particular spot he was standing in. Don’t get me wrong, I love cool, cold weather. In fact, my friends will be the first to tell you I love it cold and have a pretty high threshold for chilly weather but their air conditioning vents/​unit needed to be adjusted or re-​designed. I could have been one of those models you see with wind blowing through her hair as they pose for their windblown photo shoots. Not only was the air on full blast and coming down directly on my particular spot at the table, my eyeballs were drying out and my entrée that was just served to me was cooled in a matter of minutes. I politely asked one busser, a hostess and our server — twice, if the air could be turned down to a lower speed or off until I finished my dinner. The hostess stated she can turn the air off for a few minutes because they cannot adjust the speed or temperature because the air circulation in their restaurant was bad and it will get stuffy. I found this hard to believe since it was a fairly small restaurant and both the front doors of the restaurant were wide open. Not to mention the girls in our party were all wearing sweaters except for me and maybe one other gal. After no response from the staff I made my plea to, I moved my chair to the far end of the table to be able to eat my food and hear my friends (yes, the music was pretty loud for 6pm in the evening while trying to dine).
The food… We were not read any specials or the champagne flights we read on Unilocal and what the restaurant/​bar is popularly known for. So none of us ordered any champagne. A couple of us ordered some craft cocktails and wine by the glass which were okay but nothing impressive. The bride-​to-​be and the MOH originally had their hearts set on the Seared Rare Albacore Arugula but the server returned from the kitchen after taking all our orders stating they «ran out» and no longer have it available. So the bride-​to-​be settled for the King Salmon Quinoa. A few of us had the Angus Beef Burger Manchengo and the remainder ordered the Duck Confit Risotto. Although the Duck Confit Risotto had the best presentation and flavor, we all agreed the food was okay for the price point. I’ve had the best tasting burgers for a lot less than $ 15.00. The King Salmon the bride-​to-​be was served was not cooked all the way through. It was raw and slimy in the middle as if it was only seared or flash fried after coming out of a frozen state. She was brought another one about 15 minutes later. After only eating half of it, she said it was pretty dry and «okay.» For a $ 26.00 Entrée, she expected much more.
You see, I have a hard time paying good money for mediocre food and an uncomfortable atmosphere because I prefer not eating when my eyeballs are drying up, I’m not being windblown inside of a restaurant and my food is not being blown cold before my dry eyes. Perhaps they thought that by not offering compensation and ignoring us, we’d go away quickly and quietly? At the end of the meal, the ‘cool’ interior combined with the windy seating arrangements and lack of attention made the whole place feel inexperienced and uncomfortable.

I really love it here, Brandy at the bar is my absolute favorite champagne lover.
She is knowledgeable, very sweet, sincere and beautiful.
I highly recommend the bruch at this place!
Ordered the monte cristo with a side of house made berry sauce and glass of tettenger, pure heaven!
Oh no, whats pure heaven is the ruinart blanc de blancs — that is truly to die for.
I have never had anything like it, its about 32 bucks a glass but worth it.
The bar is gorgeous and the docor is so elegant!

i had the pleasure of walking into Encore today and experiencing one of the best happy hours ever.
Brandy at the bar took such good care of us, this place is seriously worthy of five stars. the décor, the wine list, the service and food is mind blowing.
I ordered a glass of the sonomoa piper brut during happy hour, later i upgraded to the dom rainart blah de blancs and shared the lamb chomps with my wife.
excellent experience, the staff here really enhances the entire visit.
George, Kristen and Brandy where phenomenal and for them and for the awesome wine list: i shall return!

I stopped in for light brunch with a fellow Unilocaler extreme. She had the seared
Albacore Torta with aioli, baby greens, avocado, tomato and house made chili sauce paired with thin fries for $ 14. I had the Suzie’s Farm Arugula salad with endives,
nectarine, hazelnut, feta, with a sage vinaigrette for $ 11.
The salad was looked great and was good, perhaps a little undersized for $ 11, but enjoyable to eat (
). The overall freshness was on point, and I really enjoyed the crunchy hazelnuts which added a great texture to the salad (
). The feta cheese was aggressive and added a nice salty element. The sage vinaigrette was well balanced and not to overwhelming. I was afraid that the sage was going to over power the rest of the salad’s ingredients, but it was mild and simply participated in the mêlée of flavors.
I asked for a side of crostini, something that they should offer with their salads. Although the the crostini tasted good, it did however needed to be toasted more. It was to soft and needed more of a crunch (
). My fellow Unilocaler’s albacore tuna looked great (
), but I did not tasted it, so I can’t comment much on it.
Service was pleasant and attentive. I plan to return for a dinner experience…

Loved the atmosphere
Valet — Check
Beautiful scene & people
Drinks were great
Customer Service Awesome!
Had a variety of things on their menu and it was all good. I especially loved the grilled ensalada. I think that maybe they could improve on selection… I only found about 4 things to order on menu & taste.

Well I certainly owe a BIG thank you and HAPPY ½ BIRTHDAY to the Encore Champagne Dining Room!
I was treated to a complimentary three-​course dinner by Executive Chef Ryan Studebaker on Tuesday, June 24 and took advantage of their «Date Night menu» which includes a three-​course dinner for $ 65 per couple, for my aunt and uncle.
When I received the invitation from Encore, I was happy because I immediately thought how I could treat my mom out and my family members who bent over backwards for us when my father passed away earlier this month. It was an added plus because I didn’t get to celebrate my own birthday yet (because it was 5 days after my dad died and I didn’t want to do anything for it) AND my uncles birthday is coming up later this month, so this was a much needed excuse to get out and enjoy an amazing meal with some of my precious family members.
Once again, the service at Encore was impeccable. We were greeted by the GM who (forgive my grieving brain — that’s what I call it now because ever since my dad passed, I cannot think straight– his name wasn’t Steve or Stan, but it started with an S and he was sooo hospitable) treated us so kindly and led us to their amazing lounge while we waited for our table.
THE LOUNGE
Beautiful, swank, hip
Gorgeous white loungers — delightfully turquoise chandeliers
Televisions playing the game
Great look and functional to!
THE PRIVATE ROOM
We were led into a private wine room for four. Talk about intimate!
The high stools were cute but I think I would have gone for more comfortable, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, if that makes sense :) If you are having a SPECIAL OCCASION and want INTIMACY, you might want to ask them about reserving this special table :) It even has a television
THE FOOD! THE FOOD! THE FOOD!
Hello! I am so glad that I was watching the whole season of «Masterchef Junior» on Hulu, the nights prior so that I could enjoy the mastery of our server, Ricky, as he explained in wonderful detail, the entrée options for the night. I could tell that he was passionate about the food and he did not steer us wrong!
* STARTERS — Each and every starter I can recommend to my fellow Unilocalers. Four of us shared four dishes.
#1 Carpacio — best, I’ve ever had. Usually, I’m like — eh, thinly sliced meat. But this time, each bite was a flavorful delight!
#2 Steamed Clams — oh yum! give me more of that sauce, baby! Sausage was delightful too. Not much to not like about this dish!
#3 Braised Pork Cheek — wow wow wow, so tender. And really, what a difference the fennel and dill make. Brilliant.
#4 Asparagus — I usually don’t like thick asparagus, but I guess that is because I have never had it done right. This was so enjoyable.
* MAIN — These were VERY tasty yet I think I enjoyed the starters even more. Good portions. 4 of us shared these dishes. We had to order more bread to feel a little more full. Probably should have ordered one more dish to share.
# 1 NY Steak — I like how it was cut and it was cooked to Medium perfection. A little gristle in the steak, but I think this kind of cut can expect that. LOVED the purple potato hash :)
#2 Seared Albacore — Very good! I liked the coucscous and salad bed touch.
* DESSERT– We chose two and shared and they complemented each other very nicely!
#1 Devil’s Food Cake — I think this was a perfect chocolate cake. Not too sweet. Dense but not heavy! Very good!
#2 Panna Cota — I think this was delightful. The deconstructed crust was delicious and complemented the Panna Cota well. I like how they had a ‘cherry gelee’ on the side… especially when I call it Jello ;)
Really a delight. The food, the staff, the ambiance.
I recommend it for a pleasant dinner out; special occasion or no. But don’t be in a rush, really enjoy the place! :) They didn’t rush us and we didn’t rush ourselves.
My apologies to Ricky, our server, I think I gave a 35% tip on what we were charged (thinking I’m being generous) and totally forgot to include the complimentary items. Not good!!! I feel sooo bad! I blame it on my grieving brain! :(So, Unilocalers, if you go to Encore, ask for Ricky’s section. He KNOWS his stuff. He is Johnny on the spot, fun to banter with if you want to, but most of all never steered us wrong from the wine to the food selections, we were pleased.
Enjoy!
Thank you and Bravo! Encore!
(I might like to try their happy hour too sometime)

My favorite appetizer of the evening was the chicken liver pâté… if we can’t have foie gras, then this will do. Warning though, don’t eat too much of it. It’s pretty heavy. I also recommend the white corn and leek tart.
Next fav are the drinks. They serve them strong here. Give the La Femme de Violette a try.
For the main I liked the NY strip steak with chimichurri sauce. Ordered medium and it came out perfectly medium. The only let down of the evening was the duck confit risotto. In all honestly though, I don’t think I’m a risotto fan and I’m finally realizing it. So no stars docked for this.
For dessert I highly recommend the vanilla bean panna cotta! So delicious! We cleaned the plate even though we were stuffed. We had the Hazelnut pot de Crème too. Aside from the super sticky hard chewy hazelnut praline that threatened to bind my teeth together, it was good. My friend had the devils food cake — just ok.
I’ll definitely be back. Looking forward to trying their crudo on the appetizer menu next time.

What a fun place! It’s swanky without being pretentious. We had a delicious brunch paired with bottomless mimosas. They didn’t cut corners with the mimosas and used yummy prosecco.
We started off with a charcuterie board, which turned us to some excellent cheeses we weren’t familiar with. The poached egg on my Steak Benny was the featured star, as it perfectly oozed bright, yellow yoke that took the Hollandais sauce to the next creaminess level.
I would return for another meal again and certainly would stop in for some fun bubblies on a night out on the town.

Hit Encore at the start of a recent evening in the Gas Lamp. Tale of two worlds …
The drinks were terrific! We tried the champagne lemongrass mojito, and the French 75. Both were lovely, not too sweet, good balance of tastes, and the effervescence from the champagne made them a festive way to start the evening. Would even consider trying to make a French 75 (good gin, lemon simple syrup, and decent Brut) at home.
In contrast, the food was DREADFUL! Don’t bother, just drink here then head off to your next stop to eat! We tried the goat cheese, onion and swiss chard tart, which sounded fantastic. In point of fact, it tasted like some sort of savory pop tart, and to make matters worse, it wasn’t even hot! The crust was dry and dense, the filling lacked much by way of seasoning. They should be embarrassed to serve food like this!
Oh well, just have another drink and forget about the food!

I wanted to LOVE this place, but ended up being a little disappointed. It was still good and I had a good time, it’s just that They could definitely do a few things better, but really who cares when you have so many types of champagne by the glass? It’s a little pricey as the cheapest one was 12 $, and you can buy a 2,000 $ bottle of champagne… but the sparkling wine was around 8 a glass, so that’s probably the way to go. I drank 2 glasses of Ayala Brut Majeur. it was really wonderful champagne.
PROS:
CHAMPAGNE. by the glass. yes please.
Classy place
Cool, trendy atmosphere.
CONS:
Pricey
it’s really bright, they could benefit from lowering the lights to give it more of the vibe I think their going for.
The cocktails weren’t amazing — but still, drink champagne.
the service was really slow. we watched the bartenders talking to customers (friends of theirs) instead of making drinks. I watched our server stand at the service bar waiting for them to make our drinks, they were NOT busy and there was 2 of them working. i felt bad for the server.
it’s extremely pretentious. I felt like I was at one of the bougie bars in Manhattan I used to stay away from.
I can see how it’s cool for a brunch party, girls night out, or a romantic date night. it’s not somewhere i’d frequent but it’s somewhere I’d come back for a special night out like we did last night (anniversary). stick with chamagne!

Beautiful décor, fabulous service, incredible drinks, delicious food!
This is a standout and one of our new favorite places to go! The fig cocktail is amazing and you’ll want to go back just for that!
Maija and the entire staff are attentive and fantastic.
You will definitely want an «encore» !

Walked in, was greeted promptly by someone at the bar and seated quickly.
Server came pretty quick. Only name I had was «PM» on my receipt. I was here with three other girls, all meeting after work for some champagne.
First time at this place, Great concept. I do not know of any other Champagne bars in San Diego other than those in LA. I’m a big champagne girl myself, I love champagne dry and crisp, and was quite happy when I saw Schramsberg on the menu. Beautiful décor, seats, chandeliers!
We were asked if we wanted to order anything. My friend asked «PM.» what was good. He started naming off the risotto and the gnocchi. I joked how those are all carbohydrates and ‘how about a fish’. He quickly replied «if you didn’t want fattening food, you should’ve gone somewhere else». We were very taken aback, he did not say this jokingly.
We kind of just looked at each other and said cheers with our drinks.
While the food was amazing (The risotto rocked so did the mix salad, as well as the pâté), this server «PM» was a little negative, not very pleasant. He seemed to be very hard and not at all interested in providing a nice smile from the start.
We tried to strike up a conversation with him and while he initially seemed attentive, he then quickly became opinionated, intense and not at all easy to enjoy conversation with.
This bartender/​server was not being nice at all, and almost seem to be passive aggressive. We tried to joke around with him, and get him to loosen up a little, but it just did not seem to work.
I had to step away because I was very uncomfortable. I came back, we paid the bill, and then we split.
The food is superb, the décor is super. However, I am really turned off by the service. I’ll come again to give other servers a try, but I hope it’s someone different next time.
Not a good first experience. Service in my mind is everything, and can make bad food tolerable. Unfortunately, good food does not make up for shoddy service.
Not sure i’ll be back.

Love this place – and as a local downtown San Diego resident who avoids the Gaslamp area as much as possible, this place might actually make me stay closer to home.
Same owner as Bleu Boheme restaurant in Kensington. As soon as you step in the front door, you are attracted to the chic and sexy décor of this restaurant on the corner of 6^th and F. A former clothing store and sushi bar have been transformed into a stunning main bar area with white tufted leather bar stools and sofas. As you work your way around the inside, you will pass a private dining room that will hold up to 4 people. The rear of this establishment is where the main dining room is located and has equally impressive floor to ceiling windows and a very cool chef dining bar overlooking the kitchen that features white tufted leather stools that hold 2 people, not just 1 – very cool.
You have the option of tapas, shared plates, and entrees. Almost every dish my group of 5 ordered was sensational. Some of the stars of the evening were the duck confit, pâté, apple/​black fig tart, and unbelievably delicious potato gnocchi with bacon bits. Awesome, For entrees, the table ordered jodori chicken, a burger, sea bass, and risotto. All were good, Dessert was spectacular as well, led by a delicious lemon tart and devils chocolate cake.
Will definitely return and one of the few places in the Gaslamp I can actually recommend. (note: no commentary on the Champagne or cocktail offerings, as one of my friends is the owner of the largest wine bar in town and he brought with him a bottle of Perrier Jouet as well as a magnum of Quintessa red wine).

Wow! The food!!! I mean the place is beautiful and comfortable, not loud and décor is cool, but the FOOD!!!
It split into two rooms, bar and restaurant. Both have the same feel but I like how they are split. Open kitchen layout is cool too. They even have a bar eating section right at the kitchen too. Also, cool little wine room for private parties.
Posting some pics of the food now.